Black Keys’ Auerbach Guides Lana Del Rey’s New “West Coast” – Listen

Working to prematurely prevent any summertime sadness for her fans, Lana Del Rey officially released new single “West Coast.”

Owing greatly to the influence of producer and Black Keys singer Dan Auerbach, the lead “Ultraviolence” single affixes Del Rey’s uniquely haunting aesthetic to a melange of blues-, surf- and psychedelic-rock.

At any given moment, it could be mistaken for a Black Keys song. But when evaluated in totality, it comes across as unmistakably Lana Del Rey.

Jarring in its transitions and agile in its sound, the track demonstrates confidence and quirkiness–albeit with an absence of grace–in its oscillation between tempos and styles. It reflects a Lana Del Rey at both her most sincere and most undefinable. It reveals an artist unwilling to adhere to any external reservations or conceptions about the most optimal sound.

Those notions should prove comforting for the singer-songwriter’s fans, who almost certainly had to fear transformation in the wake of “Summertime Sadness.” One would be naive to believe the song’s stint in the top ten of Billboard’s Hot 100 offered no affirmation and satisfaction, but based on “West Coast,” it is clear that taste was not cripplingly intoxicating.